Brother and Sister: Storms of Darkness
by Admeet
Summary: Admeet and Solister, two dragon siblings are thrown into an adventure to defeat a new evil. With the help of the heroes, Spyro and Cynder, the two dragons will test their relationship and stride to triumph over in their task.
1. IMPORTANT NOTE: PLEASE READ

**Hello my good users.**

 **An important note about this story.**

This story was originally written and posted on .net as fanfiction for the Legend of Spyro series. The story was never completed as I had run out of inspiration for it and the Skylander series had just appeared afterwards. I am merely uploading this to not let it become entangled in the closed threads of history and to serve as a timely reminder of a wannabe's fanfic posted way back in 2010.

BS SD provides the whole story up until it suddenly stops in a sort of cliffhanger ending. I will probably never get round to completing this story.

TTFN

Admeet.


	2. BS SD

It was early morning in the dragon city of Warfang, and the pupils of a small school were about to begin their lessons. They were all around 5 years of age and eager to learn the ways of their mentor's wisdom. One mentor in particular was good at telling stories of the past, and how the light triumphed over the dark. His pupils were keen on hearing his stories as the excitement in most of them inspired them to be a good part of the future.

Today wasn't any different as around 10 pupils sat in front of their mentor and babbled amongst themselves before the lesson began. Then their mentor held his right hand in the air and said in a voice loud enough to hear amongst the pupils "silence everyone". The pupils babble started to die down and it only took a couple of seconds for it to die down completely. Their mentor wasn't strict to the pupils but his story telling made them quiet enough. "Thank you" he said in a calm voice, "now for today's story".

The pupils smiled and made quiet small talk amongst each other before turning the heads back to their mentor. He smiled as well, knowing that they were still excited about his story. "This is a story about a young male dragon and his younger sister. It was about 10 years ago when this story happened and this male dragon was around 15 years of age and his sister was around 7 years of age". The pupils tried to picture a small dragoness about 7 years of age. Even if they didn't know what this dragon or dragoness looked like, they still didn't give up on picturing them in their minds. "Now they lived in a small house just outside this city in the neighbouring Valley of Avalar, a most beautiful place to live in".

 **10 Years ago**

"Hey sis, I'm home!" the teenage dragon shouted opening the door to their house. However, he was only met by silence. He looked around the hallway in hopes of finding some sort of clue why. When he closed the door behind him, he dropped off his side bag just by a small cupboard and walked towards the kitchen area.

" _Now this young dragon here was white in colour, with a slight tint of grey, and slender in his form. He had 2 straight horns coming out of the back of his skull and a set of 6 very small cheek horns each side. His back was lined with a single row of curved spines curving downwards and he had a triangle shaped tail spade with two more triangle shaped spikes one on each side of the spade. His eyes were a shade of blue and his chest scales were a shade of blue with a tint of black. His element was ice. When he went to school, he wore a side bag on his side, obviously, which held the stuff he needed for his work, - such as equipment, paper and study notes, and his daily needs - like food, books and paper for writing. He was a talented writer, getting praise from many of his teachers, but the other pupils didn't care about him and paid no attention to him. So in most cases, he felt alone. However, he did have his sister with him when he returned home"._

He spotted a small cookie tin on the side, with a few small crumbs lying by it. He paused to think why it was down here. However, there may have been an obvious reason. He opened the tin to find only one chocolate chip cookie in it. He just smiled and thought to himself "I thought there were more cookies in there the last time I looked". He grabbed the last cookie and closed the tin. He took a bite out of the cookie and felt the taste of chocolate touch his tongue. He chuckled to himself lightly and whispered to himself "delicious". He started to walk towards the small flight of stairs which lead towards his and his sister's bedroom and the bathroom.

As he finished off the rest of the cookie and as he was nearing the top of the stairs, he spotted a few more crumbs forming a trail towards his sister's room. He sighed to himself not in annoyance but in amusement. "Sis, what have I told you about eating more than you need" he said with a smile with more amusement. There was still silence in the house. He took a step forward towards his sister's room and started to open the door.

He peered around the door to find his Sister lying on the bed looking guilty. She slightly shuffled towards the wall beside her bed. He only smiled gently as he stepped into her room. "Hey sis, I see you've found the cookie tin" he said with a chuckle. She smiled back a little but still the feeling of guilt overwhelmed her. He walked towards her bed and sat down on it. "You really must remember that eating a lot of this is not good for you" he said gently. He then rubbed her belly slightly to feel a small lump around her stomach area. She jumped slightly from the sudden touch. "You don't want to get fat don't you?" "No" she replied back very timidly, "I just can't help it". "Why" he asked. "They are just so delicious" she replied timidly again. He chuckled to himself again. "I to find cookies very delicious, but I don't have the urge to eat them more and more. You'll learn that as you get older". She now began to relax and feel at ease.

" _Now his sister was almost a twin to himself, but there were a few differences. She had greyer skin to him and she had 5 horns set like a 5 on a dice. However, she only had 3 small cheek horns on both sides but she had the same style of spines running in one row across her back. They were not fully developed yet since she was only 7 years of age. Her tail spade was shaped like a crescent moon. Her element is also ice, the same as her brother, but she hasn't fully mastered it yet"._

" _She also wore a necklace around her neck which held a single light blue crystal. It was a gift from her mother when she was born. However, her mother and father were no longer with her and her brother. They unfortunately died in a horrible attack from a group of Wyverns in the Great War when the purple dragon, Malefor reigned supreme in dark magic. She couldn't remember anything of it since she was a very young age. Her brother remembered every bit of it since he was nine years of age but he didn't dare talk about it"._

" _She only started school 1 month ago. That would seem like a long time but time felt like it was flowing fast for her as she enjoyed being around other pupils of her age. She listened very well in her lessons and didn't cause too much attention in them even if she was very talkative amongst her friends. She was more active then her brother, but was quieter when her brother was around her due to discipline"._

"Admeet, You're not mad at me aren't you" she asked being more cautious. "No, of course not" he replied back, "does it look like I'm mad at you. In fact, I'm never mad at you, except on special occasions. But more to the point, temptation is a very powerful thing, Solister, and everyone in the whole wide world is drawn towards its power". He briefly paused allowing her to ask another question. "What is temptation" she asked. Admeet rested his chin on the knuckles of his hand in a stance of thought. "Well, temptation is the way that you are drawn to something without thinking about the problems it may cause to others. For instance, your temptation made you eat all the cookies, leaving only 1 left for me. But the most powerful temptation of the lot is when you're tempted to join a darker side of your life. But you don't need to learn that just now. And I need to hide the cookie tin in a better place". She chuckled at that comment and he stood up from the bed and walked to the doorway; she followed. "But thanks anyway for leaving 1 for me" he said, "It was worth it"

" _Now the evening was approaching, and so to was a thunderstorm, forecasted by the local weather dragon"_

"It's getting dark now, sis, looks like I gotta find us some tea". She only nodded and went back to drawing with a pencil on paper.

" _She was a very good artist even at a young age. The two even thought they could come up with a novel of some sort. If Admeet did the writing, then Solister would do the drawing. But that would have to let that wait for a while if they were to continue with school"._

He looked at Solister's latest drawing which depicted the valley view. "Wow, sis, that's a good bit of art there" He said without too much enthusiasm but enough to win the hearts of many. She smiled back at him and went back to drawing the smallest details.

Admeet opened the front door to see the beautiful scene of the valley. A small breeze caught him off his feet a bit but he managed to stabilize himself. He looked over head to see a large thunderstorm brewing over the hills. "Looks like there's gonna be a thunderstorm tonight" he said looking back other at his Sister still drawing. He smiled at her knowing that she was content of what she was doing. "See you in a bit, sis" he said and with that, he closed the door, leaving Solister on her own for a little while.

Admeet didn't need to go very far to find food. There were herds of sheep dotted throughout the land. However, he needed to act quickly since the Thunderstorm would move fast towards the middle of the valley and scare of the herds of sheep into new pastures. But within moments he stumbled across a small herd about 15 strong, enough to feed a small village for 2 days at most.

He stopped within about 5 metres in a patch of grass and crouched down. The wind was blowing towards him as he was facing the storm, making the sheep completely oblivious to the new danger. They could only rely on their hearing to get themselves out of trouble. Even though Admeet wasn't properly camouflaged amongst the green, the sheep still didn't notice. He took a quiet step forward, trying to avoid snapping a twig or rustling the grass he stood in. He surveyed his surroundings and each position of the sheep to pick out a target. He locked his eyes on a white sheep eating the green pasture where it stood. He bent his legs even more to allow him to spring onto the sheep.

But then at all moments, he accidently broke a twig with the back of his leg pressing it against the ground. The loud snap alerted all of the sheep. They all lifted their heads quickly to assess the sudden noise. It was all or nothing now. He leapt as far as he can, scaring the sheep. They all started running in different directions, a bad mistake to do. Admeet singled out a weak, old sheep running more slowly then the others. He took off after it and readied his secret weapon.

What the sheep didn't have in speed, it made up with surprising agility. Admeet had to get close enough to unleash his breath attack. He had trouble keeping up with the sheep as its agility was the order of the day. Then he had enough of running and quickly jumped into the air and spread his black wings out. The sheep looked up to see its pursuer flying above it. It tried to run faster but its energy was depleting fast. Admeet readied his breath; ice crystals formed around the rim of his mouth. He then unleashed a large shower of ice, freezing the ground behind the fleeing sheep. It then started to catch up dangerously towards the sheep until it completely froze its back legs. The sheep tripped and skidded on its side on the nearly frozen ground. Admeet stopped firing and glided down towards the downed sheep.

It was breathing heavily due to the cold taking affect on his body. It tried to move but the ice on its back legs prevented it from doing so. The dragon landed beside the sheep and it stared into his eyes, pleading for mercy. He sighed deeply and blew ice all over the sheep, freezing it completely.

" _Admeet didn't like to kill, but his instincts on surviving told him to do so. If he and his sister were to stay alive, they would need to feed on this type of food"_

"Now to get the food up back home" he pondered out loud. He dreaded having to carry such a heavy object back up the hill to their home. But he would have to do it since the thunderstorm had just past over him. "Well, here goes…"

Back at the hillside home, Solister started to draw on another piece of paper. She had finished the drawing of the valley view and now was starting on a drawing of her crystal. She definitely felt the presence of the thunderstorm pass overhead as she could hear the thunder rumble around the land.

" _She didn't mind the thunder, but it was lightning that scared her most"_

However, she didn't notice some strange things happening around her crystal. It was buzzing with strange electrical pulses. The static electricity in the thunder storm was somehow connecting with her crystal. But then she did notice as she was placing the tip of her pencil on the paper. She dropped the pencil on the paper and lifted her crystal with her hand. "What the…" she said inaudibly as the electrical pulses quickened. But then out of the blue, a lightning strike, built from the build up of static electricity, shot out of the thunderstorm and struck the exact position of the crystal with pin point accuracy. The massive amount of volts coursed through her body and she screamed in pain and agony. After a few seconds, the lightning combusted knocking the dragoness violently towards the far wall; the inside of the house lay in tatters

Back at the base of the hill, Admeet saw the strike and his eyes went wide like saucers. "Oh my Ancestors" he shouted and let go of the frozen sheep. He took to the air with frantic haste.

It took him a minute or so to reach the entrance of the house. He slammed into the door, breaking its hinges of in the process. He immediately saw the crumpled body of his sister over at the far wall. "Oh dear ancestors" he shouted as he ran over towards her unconscious sister. He immediately checked to see if she was breathing, and she was. He sighed relief and quickly picked her up and placed her on his back. "You're gonna be ok, sis, I know you will be" he shouted frantically rushing out of the house. A new ordeal was upon him.

Admeet's destination was Warfang, the dragon city nestled just outside the Valley of Avalar. From there, he could find a hospital where he could get help for Solister. The flight over the hills put a strain in Admeet's back as he had to carry the extra load. But he would not give up in the order to saving her.

When the two reached the main gates, they were signalled by a Mole sentry on gate wall. "Halt" he shouted. Admeet frowned at the sudden gesture but kept his place. "What brings you here?" "I need shelter and my Sister here is in need of medical help" Admeet shouted back. "Open the gate" The sentry shouted. Immediately, the large stone gates shuddered out from their closed position and opened to reveal the vast city.

But Admeet had no time for sight-seeing, he had to get his sister to the nearest Hospital. The Mole sentry who let him in came down to the ground level to greet him. "I see your sister is in urgent need of care" he said, "follow me and I will lead you to the main hospital". Admeet just nodded and the Mole and he quickly set off for the hospital.

As they neared the centre of the city, a crowd had started to gather. They talked between themselves on what has happened. However, among them were two very special dragons who nudged in through the crowd. The mole sentry led Admeet to the entrance of the main hospital. "Alright people" he shouted at the crowd, "nobody is allowed in except high ranking officials". Three older dragons then appeared in the crowd. "You heard the mole" A green dragon of the three shouted at the crowd, reinforcing the Mole's statement. The Mole then hurried Admeet into the chamber and quickly to the nearest operating room; the three other dragons followed closely. The two special dragons also followed as well.

Two Mole interns carefully moved Solister to the operating table in the centre of the room. "If you would kindly wait outside sir, then we can start to analyse her injuries" one of the interns said gently. Admeet cringed at possible thought of a bad injury. He slowly exited the operating room to let the interns to do their work.

He was greeted by the other dragons. "We are very sorry for what has happened to this poor youngling" The yellow dragon of the three said, "But we can assure you that she is in good hands". This raised Admeet's hopes up a tiny bit. "Can you tell us exactly what happened" the green one asked. The cringing thought of what happened stuck in his mind. "Well, I'm not certain what happened" Admeet replied, "but I saw a bolt of lightning strike our house in the Valley Of Avalar. I was out hunting when it happened, so I flew to the house only to find my sister unconscious". "Hmm, a strange thing to happen during a thunderstorm, and quite coincidental" the yellow one replied back to his explanation. "Aren't we forgetting some manners!" the blue one said a bit shocked for them to rush in to the situation so quickly. "My name is Cyril; I am the Guardian of ice. This is Terrador, the Guardian of earth. And lastly this is Volteer, the Guardian of electricity". Admeet bowed slightly due to the feeling of being with three very powerful dragons. "Hello" he said, "I am Admeet. And my sister in there is Solister".

" _The Guardians of that time before kept a good amount of control during the Great War. And it was their Participation during the Dawn of the Dragon that led to the co-operative defeat of the Dark Master's Forces. It was the legendary purple dragon and the once Terror of the Skies that defeated the Dark Master once and for all"._

"Now, back to the incident" Volteer said quickly, "This thunderstorm, it past over the city and it past over you, but do you know what might have attracted the lightning to hit the house". Admeet stood there in thought of why, coincidently, the lightning hit their house. "I'm not sure" he replied disappointingly, "What I said is all I know". "Well, I think we should leave you now" Cyril stepped in, "We will discuss more about this matter later. And we hope that your sister recovers". All of the Guardians nodded and left Admeet to watch over his sister. Only the two other dragons were left with him.

Admeet sighed deeply. He was pondering if he could ask to go in, but his mature instinct told him not to. The two other dragons stood beside him watching the little dragoness lying limp on the operating table. "I am very sorry for what has happened" the first spoke up in repetition of Volteer's first sentence. Admeet turned his head to see a purple dragon of all colours standing next to him. Next to the purple one was a black dragoness, about the same age. Admeet became a bit dumbfounded at the site. "Um… thanks" he said sheepishly. The purple one gave a small content smile. "My name's Spyro" he replied back, "and this is Cynder". "Hi" she said with a small smile. Admeet smiled back, knowing that he had support, but was also amazed with meeting the saviours of the world. "My name is Admeet, and I must say it is an honour to be meeting you, Spyro, and you to, Cynder" he replied still feeling sheepish. "Good to know we can get on with each other" Spyro said, "if only it were under better circumstances" his smile died slightly as he looked at the body of Admeet's sister.

Then, a mole intern exited the operating room and looked at Admeet. "It is good news, young dragon" he said, "Her injuries are small and are healing up nicely. And she is right now regaining consciousness. You can see her if you like". Admeet smiled greatly knowing that she was alright. He nodded in acceptance and the intern showed him in.

Still lying on the operating table was Solister. She tried to open her eyes, but the glare from the bright lights prevented her from doing so. Her senses were all hyped up. She could hear footsteps all around her but they sounded very loud. Her breathing sounded loud and the cold of the table she was lying on felt colder than normal. She tried to turn her head to locate the sounds of the footsteps, but then she saw a familiar face.

"Admeet" She shouted getting the attention of the others. Admeet hugged her tightly, knowing that she was ok. "You had me scared there, Sis". He replied back. But she only smiled back, knowing that she was with her brother again. "What happened" she asked in sudden confusion, "Where am I?"

"You're in Warfang, the dragon city. And there will be time for what happened" he replied "but now, I'll get you to somewhere where we can stay". He tried to help Solister onto her feet, but then she suddenly cringed in pain. He stared at her in confusion he she clutched at her left paw. Then a split second later, a zap of blue electricity shot out of her hand and hit a small glass container. It shattered into tiny pieces. Everybody stood in shock at what just happened. Then another wave of pain shot through Solister's hand. A burst of electricity shot out and scorched the far wall in a bright flash. "Let's get you outta here" Admeet said scared of what might happen next. Solister looked at her brother as he scooted her out of the room. She read his thoughts and started running. Spyro and Cynder also stood in shock at what just happened. The two then followed Admeet and Solister out of the Hospital.

"Follow us to the training courtyard" Spyro shouted keeping up with Admeet. He nodded back and Spyro took flight along with Cynder. Admeet shot into the air with Solister following behind.

" _Since she was only 7 years of age, she couldn't easily keep up in flight against the older dragons, but Admeet kept close to her at all times when she was flying to save her from keeping up"._

It took around a minute to reach the training courtyard. The sun had almost gone behind the horizon. Spyro and Cynder were the first to land on the paved ground. Admeet landed a second later and Solister landed with a stumble due to the pain in her left arm. "Something tells me there's more to you than meets the eye" Spyro said looking at Solister. "Well, I feel… slightly different" she said timidly with a slight tone of fright in her voice. Spyro took a closer look at her arm. "Hold out your arm for me" he asked gently. Solister slowly brought out her left arm. Spyro grasped it carefully in his mouth, careful not to aggravate the little dragoness. He started to emanate electricity from his mouth and the volts started to course through Solister's arm. Solister gritted her teeth in slight pain as she felt the voltage swell up inside her arm. Slowly, it became so powerful until he let go of her arm quickly and a large bolt of lightning shot out of her hand and hit a metal training target with high velocity. The shear power of the blast punctured a hole through it. Admeet couldn't believe his eyes, an attack so powerful it could blast through solid metal.

"Wow" was all he could speak out. Solister trembled under her new power. "Very interesting" Spyro said scratching his chin. He also noticed that Solister was not in pain after the attack on the target. "And she can partially control it now" he thought. He then spoke out, "since you don't have a home right now, you are more than welcome to share our home for the time being". Admeet stood still in shock at the thought of staying with these two special dragons, but he couldn't reject the offer. "I… I… thank you" he managed to stutter out. "You are most welcome" Spyro smiled back. "Let's get going" Cynder said as she took to the air. Spyro followed and Admeet was about to take to the air but looked back to see Solister just sitting there, petrified of the power she inflicted on the target. "C'mon" he said calmly. Solister turned towards him as he took off and took one last look at the target. She then took off towards the others. However, they didn't know the biggest matter which was the storm over the Valley of Avalar was getting bigger by the day.

Solister caught up with Admeet while Spyro and Cynder flew on a metre in front. He glimpsed at Solister who wore a painful expression on her face. He knew that she was troubled so he just kept quiet.

The sun had now completely set on the horizon but there were still a few hints of light. They were coming up to a small house near the top of the city. "Over there" Cynder shouted over her back and pointing towards the house, "there's our home". The group landed on the pavilion.

" _Spyro and Cynder's home was medium-sized and made out of the normal material in every house, smooth brick. The house consisted of five rooms: Spyro and Cynder's bedroom, a spare room, a dining room, a bathroom and the main hall. The pavilion stretched out from the main hall. This is where Spyro and Cynder would sit in the evening to look out over the city and Green-Wood Forest near the coast. However, they couldn't do that this evening since this new matter emerged"._

"You can stay in the spare room, just take the left entrance in the main hall where we are now" Spyro said. Solister immediately ran into the spare room. Admeet didn't stop her as he knew she was too petrified. "There's some spare sheep legs in the dining hall if you want something to eat" Spyro asked. Admeet couldn't resist eating into a lamb leg since he didn't eat a while ago, but he couldn't leave Solister alone. "I'm gonna speak with Solister if that's ok, I think she needs some comfort" he replied, "and besides, I don't think she's as hungry as me. She ate a whole tin full of cookies this afternoon". "Ok" Spyro replied back with a small chuckle. Cynder chuckled also at the thought. Admeet smiled slightly back and walked into the spare room.

He scanned the room for any sign until he saw her curled up on a small single bed, whimpering. Admeet felt a pang of guilt build up inside him. He had left her alone when the incident happened, but there was nothing he could've done about it.

He slowly walked towards the bed. "Hey, Sis" he whispered gently. She looked up to see her brother by the bed. She tried to hide herself away from him by shuffling away from him. She carried on whimpering. "What's wrong" he asked gently and now kneeling beside her. She lifted her head slightly. She sniffed to slightly compose herself. "I'm… scared" she whispered with another sniff. He now crawled onto the bed and kept her close to him. "I know, Sis" he said quietly wrapping her arm around her, "but we have to stand up to these sorts of things. Sometimes we are bestowed on such powers and we all have trouble controlling these new powers. It is also where temptation comes in again. But you still don't have to know that sort of thing just yet". "But, why me" she cried quietly, "Why was I given this power". "Well, we don't know that for sure" he replied, "But you may have been given these powers for a reason, maybe for a reason for the good of the world. And also, know this, you will never be alone in these troubling times, I will always be at your side". She then snuggled up to him and started to calm down. He felt content that she was around him.

Then he noticed the crystal on her neck glowing with electrical energy. She looked liked she wasn't phased by this. "So that's what the lightning struck" He thought, "But how can lightning be that accurate". However, he didn't think about it for long as he saw Solister fast asleep by his belly. He smiled and rested his head beside hers.

Then Cynder quietly came in with a piece of lamb on a small plate. "Hey" she said quietly, "I brought you something to eat". Admeet lifted his head to receive the plate of lamb. "Thanks" he replied appreciating the offer. She smiled back and set the plate down beside him. She walked back out while Admeet chewed on the lamb meat without causing much disturbance.

After he finished off the piece of lamb, he settled down beside Solister. He gently kissed her on the forehead and she cooed in her sleep. He smiled back, knowing she was at peace. He let his head rest on the covers. He closed his eyes and let himself drift off into a deep sleep.

The morning sun greeted Warfang with its gracious rays. Strangely however, the valley of Avalar, which lay beyond the western hills didn't get such an offer. The thunderstorm still brewed above the valley. In the Guardian Temple near the west side of the city, the electricity guardian, Volteer pondered over why this peculiar storm formed, and why with such accuracy it had struck a little dragoness out of the blue. He had noticed yesterday that the storm didn't die when it went over the Valley of Avalar and saw that it just stayed there.

Then Terrador trudged up the long flight of brick stairs to the main area of the temple where Volteer was. "Any thoughts about the storm, Volteer" he said with his characteristic deep voice. "No, my friend" he replied looking over towards the green dragon, "But it is quite peculiar, strange and weird that this storm is currently stationary over the Valley of Avalar". "Well, Cyril has been doing some research in the Great Library" said Terrador, "Maybe he can shed some information on this strange anomaly".

Meanwhile back at Spyro and Cynder's home, Admeet was just starting to open his eyes to the new day. He lifted his head to feel the morning rays hit his skin; he felt the warmth brush against him. He smiled yawned to shake off the sleep. He then opened his eyes fully to see Solister curled up on her side. He smiled even more to see his sister once again. He kissed her on the forehead and she smiled to herself. He immediately knew she was awake, just taking a bit more rest. He rolled off the bed and onto his feet. Solister cracked open an eye to see Admeet looking at her. "Morning" he said with another smile. She cooed and stretched her muscles. "Morning" she replied still a bit sleepy. "Sleep well" he asked again. "Yeah" she replied as she yawned. "C'mon, let's go see what's for breakfast" Admeet said. Solister immediately rolled off onto her feet and walked with Admeet out of the spare room.

Spyro and Cynder were already awake and having their breakfast. Spyro turned around to see the two. "Good morning" he said cheerfully. "Good morning" Admeet replied back, "What's on the menu for breakfast". "Well, there's either cereal or toast" Cynder replied. "I think we'll go for toast" Admeet said. Solister nodded, liking the idea of toast in the morning. "I've already prepared some toast on the counter there" Spyro said pointing towards the counter. "Thanks" Admeet replied back walking towards the side. He set some toast down on a small plate and handed it over to Solister. "Thanks" she said with a smile. Admeet smiled back and helped himself to two slices of toast. Solister walked towards the balcony and sat down with her plate. She looked over towards Green Wood Forest and the coastline, admiring the views at sunrise.

" _Green Wood Forest was a mass of trees that supported a huge amount of life. The forest spanned from Warfang to the base of the mountains to the north. Green Wood River flows through the forest and flows into the sea through a gulley in the coastline. Some say that there are outcasts living in the forest and many dangerous creatures still reside within its limits"._

Admeet quickly joined her as she bit into a slice. "Beautiful isn't it" he said. The coastal waters shimmered under the rising sun, even if they couldn't see the sun. "Yeah" she replied finishing off chewing the piece of toasted bread. She shuffled closer to Admeet's side and leaned her head against his shoulder. He looked down at the resting dragoness and smiled to himself.

Then a few moments later, a black dragon landed on the balcony edge. He was carrying a side bag full of messages and notes. "Spyro, Cynder" he puffed out, winded from the fast flight. Spyro turned his head to see the dragon walking towards him. "The guardians request you at the temple. Hurry quickly". "Thanks, messenger" Spyro replied politely, "Go get yourself some breakfast". "Yes sir" the black dragon saluted back and quickly darted off from the balcony again. Admeet and Solister looked back at Spyro and Cynder. "Stay here for the time being. We'll contact you if we need you" Spyro said. "Ok" Admeet replied nodding at the same time. Then Spyro and Cynder took off from the balcony heading towards the Guardian Temple.

Solister looked confused and looked up at Admeet. "Why are they going to the temple?" she asked. "I'm not sure, but it could be about the incident yesterday". A flashback entered Solister's mind as she remembered what happened. "But don't worry, I'm sure everything is alright" Admeet reminded her. Solister held out her hand and looked at it carefully. She still noticed the buzzes of purple electricity appear from time to time, but she didn't feel any pain. She then closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on her new power. She found herself literally tapping into the power inside her, bringing out small wads of electricity. The wads then flew through her body into her left arm, ready to be unleashed at the right moment. But she then drew the power out of her hand and then back into the source. She knew now she could control this source of energy with just her inner consciousness. "Wow" she whispered at the thought.

Meanwhile, Admeet started to think that he had forgotten something. But then the spark ignited. "My bag" he shouted in his mind. He knew he had left it at his original home, but he didn't know if it was still in one piece or destroyed in the incident. And he had to think risking of getting it while leaving Solister behind on her own, but it would be safer if she didn't go with him; she was in good hands. "Solister, I left my bag at our home and I want to see if it's still in one piece" he said bringing Solister out of her inner consciousness, "Now If you can stay here while I go and get it, you should be safe". She thought for a bit of the decision. "Um… ok" she said with a bit of reluctance. "Thanks, Sis" he said kissing her on the forehead. She stepped back a bit from the reaction. "Now stay here" he ordered, "I won't be long".

" _Solister didn't usually disobey orders"._

She nodded and sat down on the floor. He smiled and took off from the balcony, leaving the little dragoness behind.

Meanwhile, at the dragon temple, Cyril had now joined the guardians with Spyro and Cynder. "Well, Cyril" Terrador asked, "have you found anything about this storm". "Very little information" Cyril replied with a worried expression, "But I do believe that it is important". "What's so important about it" Spyro asked. "Well, young dragon" Cyril continued, "It says that this particular type of storm is magic based, not natural like most storms. Very little is known of these storms because they are a rare source of dark magic. And unfortunately, this one has risen over our part of the world and is currently stationary over the Valley of Avalar; we don't know why though". "Thank you Cyril" Terrador praised the ice dragon's information, even if there was very little of it. "Do we know what might have created this storm if it wasn't natural" Cynder asked. "We are not sure" replied Cyril, "and for what reason we need to figure out". "Then we need research, an investigation, an examination of the polarity and power of the storm" Volteer said excitedly, "that way we can delve more into the creator". "Indeed we must" Terrador said slightly perplexed from what Volteer babbled out, "We'll need a research team on the job then". "Preferably with electrical elements" Volteer pointed out, "Our electrical based powers can easily measure the polarity of the storm and make the job easier". "Very well then" Terrador concluded, "We shall set a team up this afternoon" The guardians nodded in approval and left the main hall, only Spyro, Cynder and Terrador remained. "What shall we do Terrador" asked Spyro looking up at the earth guardian. "We can't rush into things too quickly before we have full proof of the incident" Terrador replied, "but in the mean time, I want you to care for our new guests, Admeet and Solister. They could be a big help in this case". "Yes sir" Spyro and Cynder both chimed together. "Good. Dismissed" Terrador replied. Spyro and Cynder both walked out of the temple to leave Terrador in his thoughts about the current events.

Meanwhile, back at Spyro and Cynder's house, Solister was trying to think of something to do while Admeet went off to find his side bag. She wondered into the main hall. She thought about doing some drawing but she had to find some paper and a pencil. She scanned the large hall for any bits of paper. She eventually saw some lying on a small table to the side. Luckily, they were blank, nothing written on them. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind if I borrowed this paper" she thought as she felt the rough paper. She took a single sheet and placed it on the large centre table. She also searched for a pencil. She searched through the draws of the side table. She then found a pencil lying by a few other bits of stationary. She closed the draw it was in and sat down on a small wooden chair, ready to start drawing.

However, she needed inspiration. She thought hard on what to draw. But then she remembered something. She closed her eyes and delved deep into her power. She took a good look at her inner conscience. Purple wads of electricity surrounded a large white sphere of pure power which produced a brilliant haze of blue. Every so often, strands of electric power connected with the sphere and produced a brief surge; the power would swell up inside her. She thought about how beautiful the power looked in her conscience. She then opened her eyes to see herself back in her seat like she was before. "Wow" she thought again. She immediately began to draw what she remembered. The lead of the pencil transferred onto the paper in a fine circular stroke.

Meanwhile, Admeet was just about to fly over the top of the mountains to the Valley of Avalar. It had now been 15 minutes since he set off from Warfang.

" _He didn't have any trouble finding his way back home since he had a good sense of navigation"._

It would take about another 5 minutes for him to reach his home.

Spyro and Cynder were just about to arrive back at their home. They landed on the balcony of the main hall and immediately spotted Solister, sat by the centre table. "Hi Solister" Cynder said quietly not to disturb what she was doing. They wondered over to her to see what she was doing. Solister had already gone into turning the rough sketch into a full picture. "Wow" Spyro commented, "You must be a talented artist". Solister looked at them, knowing that they were impressed. She then turned back and started adding the details. Then Spyro looked around to see Admeet not in the house. "Where's Admeet" he asked. "Oh" Solister suddenly remembered, "he said he was going to look for his bag back at our home I think. I'm not sure how long ago that was though". "Hmm, well he'd better be careful" Spyro thought, "one can't be careless in these troubling times". "Well, hopefully he should return" he then said reassuring the little dragoness. She smiled and went back to drawing.

Admeet was now only a couple of minutes away. He had reached the edge of the storm only a minute or so ago, but being in the presence of this anomaly made him feel anxious. "Wonder what I will find when I get there" he thought as he rode a small air current. Distant rumbles of thunder could be heard over the mountains and the valley. Occasionally, lightning would strike all over the valley. "And they say lightning never strikes twice" he thought as he observed a quick strike over a small patch of grassland. He glided along effortlessly through the air current until he was within eyesight of his house; he then started to descend.

He touched the ground a couple of yards from his house. He quickly inspected the damage on the outside. It wasn't to bad, only a few scorch marks and a burnt out hole in the roof where the lightning struck. However, as he opened the front door, he clearly saw that the damage inside was worse.

The furniture lay in ruins everywhere. He remembered the exact position where Solister lay unconscious yesterday. But now wasn't the time to be remembering bad moments, he had to find his bag. He wondered upstairs towards his room on the left. He opened the door to find his room relatively untouched. He immediately found his bag lying on his bed. "Strange that it hasn't been touched" he thought as he put it around his back. He fastened the strap and went back down the stairs. He was about to exit out of the door when he suddenly was hit with a stabbing pain in his head. His vision went blurry and he fell to the ground in pain. A strange black haze appeared from nowhere and shrouded the main room in darkness. Admeet then felt himself being lifted into the air by a strange force. Then the black haze manifested into a hooded figure with its face being covered by shadows. Admeet struggled in the force's grasp as the figure stepped towards him. Fear started to take over his mind. "Light or Dark, Friend or Foe" the figure said in a sinister voice, "hear this, Admeet. You will be gone and your Sister will be mine". Hearing this made Admeet struggle even more, now fear was turning into anger. The figure chuckled coldly. "Such a weak mind" he said extending his spindly fingers, caressing the force around Admeet's head, "but such a mind can't go to waste. I need you to do something for me. You will lead your sister to me at Fathom Cave along the coast. If you dare mention anything about this confrontation, I swear that your sister will never see the light of day again. Understand?" Admeet gasped at the thought of her sister being slain at the hands of this dark figure. He struggled even more until the force let go of him and he fell to the hard floor. "You will do this deed for me, or suffer greatly" the figure said looking down at the limp body. The figure then vanished through the darkness as the room returned to normal. Admeet breathed heavily as he felt the pain in his head ease. However, the darkness hadn't fully vanished. "You know what to do" the figure's voice said inside his head. Admeet slowly got up. He grabbed his bag and exited the house. "Ancestors, help me" he thought; Betrayal or death, two paths with only one choice, everything or nothing.

It took Admeet around 5 minutes to get back to Warfang. He had to put on a show to the others to hide the confrontation away – and he had to find the location of Fathom Cave along the coast. He dreaded the thought of working with evil but he had to if he wanted his sister to live. "Oh I hope this works out" he thought. "Oh it will, Admeet" the figure's voice said as if it had read his thoughts, "just follow my instructions and I will let your sister live".

Admeet landed on the balcony of Spyro and Cynder's home. "Admeet" Solister shouted running over to him. "Hi, sis" he replied with a slight stifle in his voice, however he did his best to hide it. She hugged him, glad that he had returned. Spyro and Cynder walked over to the pair. "I see you've found your bag" Cynder commented. "Yes" Admeet replied, "and strangely intact on that matter. Anyway, can you take me to the nearest library?" Spyro and Cynder were a bit taken back by the sudden request. "Umm, what for" Spyro asked inquisitively. "I just need to check up on something" Admeet replied. He felt a touch of guilt enter his mind as he wasn't saying what he wanted to check up. "Umm, sure thing" Spyro replied, "follow me". "Can I come" Solister asked. "Umm, I think it's best if you stay here, sis" Admeet replied. She then felt disappointment enter her mind. "Don't worry, I'll be back soon again" he said again. He set his bag down by the centre table and then took off from the balcony. Spyro took off and immediately took form in front of Admeet, leading him to the Great Library.

" _As some of you may know, the Great Library was the very foundation of our knowledge. Nearly every piece of international information is stored within the walls of it; Prophecies, combat moves, locations, you name it. Yet there is still plenty of information to discover. The keepers of this knowledge were white dragons, capable of using telekinesis in aid of sorting out various scrolls into their righteous place"._

Spyro landed at the front entrance of the Great Library, with Admeet close behind. "Here we are" he said, "is there anything else you want". "No thanks" Admeet replied. "Very well then, come back soon" Spyro said as he took off. Admeet nodded and walked towards the front entrance.

As Spyro headed back towards his home, he thought about Admeet's sudden request. He somehow knew that something was up, and he didn't like it. But he had to worry about that later he would have to gather more evidence later.

Admeet was now in the main reception area. He needed a basic map of the library to find out where the section for locations around the world was. He walked towards the main receptionist looking through various records. "Excuse me" he asked, "where can I find the section for locations around the world". The receptionist eyed him inquisitively. "Why yes" he replied, "just go down to the end of the main isle, turn right and take the first left. That should get you into the Geographical and Atlas Knowledge Section". "Thank you" Admeet replied. "Your welcome" the receptionist accepted. Admeet wondered down towards the main isle and took in his surroundings.

The walls of the library were made up of carved wood. Wooden carvings of dragons covered the ceiling while the floor was made up of a green and red fabric. Small sets of chandeliers lit the area with a good yellow glow. "Wow" he whispered in his mind. All around him, dragons were observing the various sections of information. But he had to stick to his goal. He walked towards the end of the long isle and turned right. He immediately noticed a sign above a small archway saying "Geographical and Atlas Knowledge Section". He immediately entered the room through the archway.

Every Section had one white dragon stationed, ready to serve any dragon's interest, so Admeet could request help whenever. The room was lined with shelves, housing scrolls detailing every known location in the world. Knowing that they would be in some sort of order, Admeet started searching.

He immediately found that they were all in alphabetical order. He looked for a divider beginning with F. He found it and immediately came across the document labelled "Fathom Cave". He carefully pulled out the scroll and unravelled it. It revealed a short description and a small map of the location and a few landmarks around it. The description read out:

" _Fathom Cave is a small fissure located on the west coast cliffs. The North West side of Green Wood Forest lies directly above it. The easiest way of accessing the cave is to follow Green Wood River Gulley and go along the left cliff face until you see a set of stone steps which lead all the way to the cave. Other known landmarks which are in the vicinity of Fathom Cave are Sunset Pendulum, Gulley Rock and the Clearing of Remembrance. Not enough information has been gathered on the history and geography of Fathom Cave since unfortunately, none of our explorers returned from their expeditions into the cave"._

" _Signed 'The Era of Peace', 21/6/2561 by T. Lazarus"_

"But that was almost a year ago" Admeet thought observing the date of the signing.

" _It had been at least a year since the defeat of Malefor and his forces"._

"Ah yes, the last explorer to die at my hands" the figure's voice suddenly said, "Now go, bring your sister to me and she will live". Admeet felt more guilt fill his heart as he knew he had to put Solister through this in order to save her. He sighed heavily worrying about the future.

He set the scroll back in its original place and set off back to Spyro and Cynder's home. He went back through the main isle back to reception and exited the building. It was almost mid-day and dragons of all ages were doing their daily work. Admeet sighed to himself and took off.

Meanwhile back at the main temple, Volteer wandered up the spiral staircase, looking for Terrador. He found him in a lower room, observing the Pool of Visions. Terrador sighed to himself and thought "If only Ignitus was here". "Trouble, my friend?" Volteer asked. Terrador looked at him. "Well, you could say that. It's only our friend, Ignitus" he replied, "I'm just wondering if he is still alive somewhere". "Well, we can't always be certain about predictions, but it's the hope that counts" Volteer reassured him, "anyway, I have assembled a team of electric dragons to observe the eye of the storm. We should be heading out in an hour or so when we have fully prepared our garrison. We await your permission." Terrador thought for a bit until he came up with his answer. "Okay, Volteer" Terrador replied, "You have my word. Your team may analyse the storm". "Thank you" replied Volteer and then with a small bow, he headed back down the stairs. Terrador watched the electricity guardian exit the room and thought to himself. An eerie presence filled the air as something didn't feel right with him. "May the ancestors watch over you" he muttered out before returning back to the Pool of Visions.

A few minutes later, Volteer had his team of electric dragons assembled by the main gate. One electric dragon stood in front of the team. "Alright, my friends" he instructed, "do your best to monitor this storm. Report anything anomalous to me or Volteer; that is all. Ok let's move out". And with that, the team took to the air with Volteer leading.

Admeet saw the team of electric dragons appear from behind the main gate. The storm loomed over the valley in the far distance. "Good luck, with whatever you're doing" he spoke silently towards the team. Once the team was just a speck on the horizon, Admeet resumed his flight back to the house.

When he returned, he was immediately greeted by Spyro, Cynder and Solister. "Hey, guys" he said, a little breathless after the quick flight back. "Good to see your back" Spyro replied with a smile. Admeet nodded back in response. "Did you find what you need" Spyro asked inquisitively. Admeet had to quickly think up of a lie to cover the real aim in mind. "Umm… yeah" he stuttered, "It was just a bit of research on Solister's crystal". He pointed towards the crystal hanging firmly on Solister's neck. "And I have found out something" he continued, "These crystals originate from all over the world, but local resources say that the biggest concentration of these crystals is a place called Fathom Cave". "So do you think the crystal has got something to do with the sudden storm" Spyro asked. "I'm not sure about that for certain" Admeet replied, "but Fathom Cave could be a clue to why this storm has risen, and maybe it could be the way to stop it". "Well, we mustn't rush into this too quickly" Cynder answered back, "Volteer is leading a team of dragons towards the storm to measure the polarity. Hopefully we can see if the Storm poses as any sort of threat". "Then what about seeing if we can help" Admeet pleaded, "I can't just wait in here while there could be a possible threat brewing". He was relying on his instinct to cover up the dark voice in his mind. His sudden change of mood didn't settle well with Spyro. "What is going on with Admeet" he pondered in his mind, "First he was all calm and collective, but now he wants to help out all of the sudden. Something doesn't seem right here". However, he put those thoughts at the back of his head. He had to play along with whole situation to see how it would fold out. "Well, if you want to help, we can head on over to the team and assist them" Spyro said, "We'll have to gain Terrador's permission first. He doesn't normally like dragons of our age assisting with this sort of situation". "What should I do" Solister asked questioningly. "You'd better stay here, Solister" Spyro said gently, "It would be safer here". "Oh, okay" she reluctantly replied. "Don't worry, sis" Admeet reassured her, "We won't be long". "That's what you said last time" Solister replied with a small chuckle. Admeet smiled back and followed Spyro and Cynder to the balcony. They took off in unison and once again, Solister was left alone.

Solister walked back to the centre table and looked back at how well she drew her "inner conscience". She smiled to herself knowing that she did a good job on drawing this. She picked up the piece of art and placed it by Admeet's bag. Sometime soon she would need to buy a bag to store all her art. But she didn't worry about that now as she wanted to start a new piece of art. She thought for a bit for something interesting to draw. But then it hit her, she looked towards Admeet's bag.

" _She always admired his writing skills, although she never really got to see what he wrote due to his private life. Now was her chance to read a section of his works"._

She carefully released the latch of his bag and lifted the flap. Inside were about fifty scrolls neatly packed in one small space. "He must have a lot of inspiration" she thought. She picked out a scroll in the corner of the leather bag and unfolded it. She read out the words in her mind.

" _The three friends kept on strolling through the forest in search of the artefact. "What do you think we'll see when we reach this artefact, Flare" the first friend said. The fire dragon cocked his head towards the blue dragoness friend. "I don't know, Hydrus" Flare replied, "although I have heard rumours that this artefact is some sort of medallion with great power". An earth dragon trudged beside them, keeping his thoughts to himself. "What do you think, Vine" Flare asked looking at the quiet earth dragon. "I'm not sure either" the earth dragon muttered in reply. Flare turned his head back to where he was going."_

" _The group had now reached a cliff face. "Aww man" Flare sighed in defeat, "I knew we would reach a dead end. Let's turn back". Hydrus halted his progress with a quick yank at his tail. "You ain't going nowhere, coward" Hydrus sniggered jokingly. However, she leant on small stone embedded in the cliff face and it suddenly moved. A slab of cliff rotated quickly and both dragons fell through the rock wall. Vine just stood there, dumb founded at what just happened. "Umm… guys" he said cautiously, "you okay in there?" Flare and Hydrus both stood up, a bit shaken from the sudden fall. "Umm… yeah we're fine" Flare replied to Vine's question. However, Hydrus stood in amazement as she was looking at a blue glowing object placed on an altar in the middle of the cave. "Wow" she whispered astonished of the spectacle she was seeing". "What" Flare asked Hydrus until he to saw the sight. Flare's eyes went wide like saucers as the glow shimmered in them. Hydrus took a step forward towards the altar. "What's going on in there" Vine suddenly called out from the other side, bringing Flare to his attention. However, Hydrus just kept on pacing towards the altar. "Hydrus" flare shouted trying to get the water dragon's attention but to no success. Hydrus kept her eyes fixed on the shimmering object getting closer to her by the second. "Vine, can you see if you can get this wall open" Flare shouted making his voice heard through the other side. "I'll try" vine shouted back as he charged up a small earth missile in his mouth. Particles of earth fused together to create a sharp missile head. Hydrus was just about to touch the object when Vine released the projectile. It pierced straight through the wall and exploded a metre away, creating a wide enough exit. Suddenly a blinding light shone through the cave out of the exit."_

" _Flare was blinded from the sudden flash; Vine came off better than the fire dragon as he shielded himself with his wing, while Hydrus was strangely floating in the air with the light shining through her scales. Then an eerie voice called out from the object. "We are whole… we are one… light or dark… friend or foe… you know us as the Shroud… use our power… smite all evil… free us from our prison… free us all… when end is nigh… when finish is near… cast our power to save your kin…" As soon as the voice faded away, the blinding light disappeared and Hydrus fell to the hard ground. Vine stepped into the cave as he wasn't blinded as much as Flare and ran to the limp Hydrus. Strangely however, her scales were now see-through with her eyes shining with purple light. "What the…" he muttered feeling the illusion of her scales. "Vine" Flare suddenly called out startling the earth dragon, "Where are you". "I'm right here, Flare" Vine replied. Flare tried to follow the source of Vine's voice as he stumbled about, thinking of where he was placing his paws. "Why can't I see anything" Flare asked now calming down. "You've been blinded" Vine put it in the most simple answer, "But we have more troubling matters, Hydrus is unconscious". Vine then noticed that the object, a medallion as Flare put it, on the altar had now vanished. But then he found it, fused onto Hydrus' breast scales. "C'mon, we have to go" he said urgently picking up Hydrus and placing her on his back. Flare nodded slightly and Vine directed him out of the cave. "This can't be good"."_

Solister finished reading the extract. "Wow" she thought at the excellence in the quality of the extract, "just epic".

The extract was just the inspiration that Solister needed, but she had to figure out what part of the extract she would draw. She brought the scroll to the table and sat down where she was when drawing her "Inner Conscience". She glanced at it and thought for a moment. "That is what I shall name the power" she then thought out loud, "Shroud". She then turned back to the scroll and studied it once more. She then thought about drawing the part where Hydrus touches the medallion and the light shines through. She picked up the pencil, took a new sheet of paper and started to draw a sketch.

Meanwhile, Spyro, Cynder and Admeet had just arrived at the temple, hoping to find Terrador inside. "Ok, follow me" Spyro said instructing Admeet. He nodded back and Spyro opened the main door into the tower.

They climbed up the stone stairs towards the top. However, they found no one there. "He must be in one of the lower rooms" Cynder said. They followed her back down to the first lower room. She knocked on the large wooden door once and almost immediately, a large green earth dragon opened it. "Spyro, Cynder" he greeted them, "and Admeet. Please come in". They all stepped into the chamber and Terrador closed the door. "So what business do you have today" Terrador continued as he turned back to the younger dragons. "Well, it's concerning about our friend, Admeet here" Spyro gestured towards the white dragon, "He says he's on to something about the incident, and we require permission to travel to the storm where the team is". "Hmm, well what information have you got to share with us, young dragon" Terrador asked.

Admeet went on about how he did some research on the crystal in the Great Library and how he thought there was a clue about the incident at a location called Fathom Cave. "Well, this is most interesting, Admeet" Terrador replied, praising Admeet's information, "but I think we shouldn't rush into things too quickly" Cynder nodded, in response to the same thing she said earlier. Admeet quickly paused to think about the fact that the black dragoness was smarter than he first thought; he admired that. "I will allow you to travel towards the team over at the storm. We shall discuss how to deal with this further after we have gained enough evidence". "Yes sir" Spyro, Cynder and Admeet chimed together. "Very good" Terrador replied in satisfaction, "Dismissed".

The three left the room and hurried back down stairs. "Well that was quick" Admeet commented, "I thought it would take a bit more persuasion". "Well, Terrador knows what we've been through" Spyro replied, "He knows that we can take care of ourselves". "Oh" replied Admeet. They neared the bottom of the tower and came out into the early afternoon sun.

Admeet was about to take to the air when he spotted a poster on the far wall. It showed a dragon in a flying stance with goggles over his eyes. Admeet read the title above the image. "Wing Racing" he muttered. He then read the writing at the bottom. "Grand opening ceremony in 1 month's time" he muttered out again, "Hmm, might be interesting" Spyro and Cynder looked back towards the white dragon. "I doubt if he's heard of Wing Racing before" Cynder whispered to Spyro, "But he seems to be interested". Spyro only nodded before Admeet joined up with them again. They all took to the air, heading towards the team.

Meanwhile, Solister was well into adding the details to her new picture. She had drawn an outline over the starting sketch and now was adding the major details. She had drawn the blue dragon Hydrus floating in midair with the light emanating in front of her. Flare was trying to shield himself from the light while Vine was staring dumbstruck at the dragoness. But then as she was adding a detail to Hydrus, the pencil nib snapped. She sighed to herself as she wasn't very good at manually sharpening a pencil with a sharp knife. She jumped of her chair and went back to where she got the pencil. She knew that somewhere there would be a knife for sharpening pencils. She opened the same drawer that she found the pencil in and found a small sharpening knife. She took it out and closed the drawer. She then carefully started the procedure of carving a new nib on the end of the pencil. Wooden shavings fell one by one onto the hard wood of the side table. But then, her grip slipped and the knife accidently carved a small cut into Solister paw. "Ow" she jolted at the slight twitch of pain. She dropped the knife in shock. Then the small stabbing feeling came into her paw and she clutched it tightly to try and ease it. She cringed in irritation as the small stabbing feeling resisted her attempts to subdue it. She let go of her paw and picked up the pencil, resisting the pain. The pencil was sharp enough now to continue drawing. She picked up the knife from the floor and placed it back in the drawer. She returned to the table and continued drawing.

The three were now about to fly other the main gates. By now, the team of electric dragons were well into their analysis of the storm. "I wonder what they will find in their research" Admeet thought out loud as they flew over the main gate. A couple of mole sentries watched them from below. "Well, let's just hope it's not something bad" Cynder replied with a hint of anxiousness in her voice. Admeet took the hint away from her immediately as he knew something was going on. "Just keep going, you'll find out soon enough" the dark voice rang in his head. He obeyed the voice but didn't say anything to the couple. It would be a tough time to keep this voice in hiding from the two dragons.

Meanwhile in the centre of the storm, the team of electric dragons were making good progress. Volteer and another electric dragon, by the name of Joulus, stood at the edge of the research area, watching every bit of the analysis. "Have there been any unnatural readings yet" Volteer asked Joulus. "Not yet sir" replied Joulus with a militarising tone, "We've measured the polarity, the voltage and amp level, but still there is no sign of an unusual reading". "Then keep at it, Joulus" Volteer ordered, "We haven't finished yet".

Volteer eyed the dark presence of the storm, looming over the team. Black clouds swirled around the eye, with crackles of purple lightning skimming across the tops of the gloomy vapours. "To be honest, sir" Joulus spoke up, "I do not really like the look of this storm. Whatever it's hiding, it can't be good". "I know what you mean, my friend" Volteer replied. "I too don't like the look of this electrical anomaly. But we have to wait if it is to reveal any secrets". "I understand, sir" Joulus replied, "We will maintain our progress". Volteer only nodded in conformation. Joulus headed back to the rest of the team.

One of the dragons in the team was holding a probe, slowly moving it in a circular motion so that the tip of it was brushing against the vapours. They swirled around the probe as they matched the motion of it. But then, the probe bleeped at the dragon emitting a red flash of light. The digital reading showed a number, over 100, which was increasing at a fast rate. "Joulus!" the dragon shouted. Joulus heard the dragon's cry of help and quickly flew over to him. "This reading is off the scale" The dragon continued pointing at the number which was nearing 1000. "Hmm, the charge rate is increasing" Joulus inspected. But just as he was about to continue, a bolt of purple lightning struck the probe and sent a huge shock through the dragon holding it. He writhed in pain as his insides felt like they were burning. Joulus was knocked back from the initial shock and the rest of the team stood back, frightened at the spectacle before them; the lightning just kept on pouring into the dragon. "Do something, NOW!" Volteer shouted at the team with the same frightened expression planted on his face. One dragon quickly stepped up and breathed a bolt of electricity at the opposite purple. They conjoined and the dragon being electrocuted was free from the opposite's grasp. The opposite was quickly overpowered by the bolt from the dragon and it shrunk back into the cloud. The injured dragon twitched on the ground as the last of the volts coursed through his body. The team quickly rushed towards the injured one, shocked at what just happened.

Meanwhile, Spyro, Cynder, and Admeet witnessed the sudden lightning strike over where the research team would be. "Oh my gosh" Cynder shouted stopping in midair from the sudden flash. Admeet didn't hesitate; "We have to help them" he said urgently and picking up speed. Spyro and Cynder didn't reply as they shot through the air, catching up with Admeet.

Back at Warfang, Solister was about to add the last details to her drawing. It was now coming into the late afternoon, and Solister was beginning to feel tired from concentrating too much on her drawings.

" _Due to her young age, her endurance in the day wasn't as good as Admeet's. She would sometimes need to sleep during the afternoon so she could restore her energy for the evening. She tried to stay focused in school but she would tend to sleep early in the evenings"._

Her eyelids were starting to droop and she began to nod off. She would often notice herself drifting off and shake herself from the daze. But now she was beginning to feel too tired for any more drawing. So she decided to call it a day and laid the pencil down on the table and jumped off the chair. She headed into the spare room and walked towards the bed; she felt mentally exhausted. She jumped onto it and immediately slumped down onto its soft fabric. She immediately closed her eyes and slowed down her breathing. She quickly fell into a deep sleep, unaware of things going on around her.

Spyro, Cynder, and Admeet had now reached the team where they saw them gathered around a single electric dragon, scorched all around his skin. Volteer noticed the three approach them. "Spyro, Cynder, Admeet" he said surprised that the three were here, "What are you three doing here". "We came here to see if we could aid you in your research" Admeet replied, "but I see you have a more urgent matter". He motioned his head towards the limp electric dragon. "Yes, this is a most unfortunate event" Volteer said in a sad tone, "but he is still alive. We've managed to treat some of his wounds with the small first aid kit, but it is not enough to fully heal him. We'll have to get him back to Warfang where he can be treated completely. We'll move out once we've gathered our equipment". "Ok" Spyro replied quickly, "we'll hang around here for a bit to see what's what; we'll catch up to you later". "Ok young dragons" Volteer replied, "But do be careful. You've seen what's happened to our friend here". "We will" Cynder responded. Volteer nodded in recognition and with that, the whole team quickly gathered their equipment and set off towards Warfang. "Hope they make it" Admeet spoke up.

Solister found herself lying on a cold, stone floor. She shivered from the feeling and opened her eyes. She lifted her head and took in the surroundings. What she saw amazed her.

A vast expanse of dark blue and black covered the sky. The sky was littered with dark clouds which shimmered with blue light. Two massive, rocky bodies, the Celestial Moons, took up most of the view. Their radiant energy spread across their circular shapes. Stone statues, fragments floated in suspended animation across the expanse. "W… Where am I" she asked herself and to the vastness. She lifted herself onto her feet and surveyed her surroundings even more.

She was on a large, floating slab of rock decorated with old stone carvings and statues. A small, circular podium stood in the middle shining with a bright blue energy. Golden etchings were carved into the base of the podium. "Hello" the lone dragoness shouted into the new world, "is anyone there?" "Do not be frightened, young dragoness" a gentle voice called from the emptiness, "for you have been brought here for a reason". Solister was quiet for a few moments until she spoke up. "W… What reason" she asked still slightly anxious. "Because you have been given a special power to combat a new force of evil" the voice replied. Solister stood dumbstruck at what she was hearing; she just couldn't believe it. "The lives of many are on the edge right now as this new evil seeks to take over the world. The fate of this age of peace lies with you now". "What!" she shouted showing slight anger in her tone, "Why me? Why was I chosen?" "Step into the podium's light and I shall tell you everything" the voice coaxed her gently. She noticed the shimmering blue light over the podium. It reminded her of the "shroud" inside her inner conscience. She stepped towards the podium and stretched her arm towards the iridescent glow. It flowed around her hand as she interfered with it. She pulled her hand out and the light flexed back into its original path. She built up her courage and stepped into the light, completely immersing herself in the calm vortex. She felt a tingling sensation flow around her body as the light entered her through her skin. The light flowed faster before she completely disappeared in a bright flash. The vortex slowed down back to its original speed.

Solister found herself in a completely different area half a second later. She shook her head as she had trouble adjusting to the sudden change in environment. She was standing in front of a large hour glass that seemed to be pouring an infinite amount of bright blue sand. All round her were shelves upon shelves of books each with a name engraved on the spine. "Wow" She gasped in the awe of this place; a certain good, magical feeling filled the air. But she still felt confused as to why she was here of all places in the world, even if she didn't know where 'here' was. "The White Isle is where you are" The gentle voice revealed itself off to the side. Sitting by a bookshelf was an old, light blue dragon bearing an old cape. Solister jumped at the old dragon's voice and quickly looked to the voice's location. "A… Are you real" she asked rather stupidly. But the old dragon just chuckled. "No, Solister. I am only communicating through your dreams" the dragon replied. "Wait, how do you know my name then" she asked again. The old dragon chuckled again. "You are quite the knowledge seeker aren't you" the dragon replied gently, "The reason why I know your name is that each book on this shelf belongs to a dragon. The book records his or hers life". "Then can I see mine" she asked without knowing her urgency. "In due time, young dragoness" the old dragon replied; Solister felt disappointed, "but now you must know why you have been chosen to defeat this new evil". Solister calmed down and let the old dragon carry on.

"About a year ago, when the dark forces of Malefor were defeated by the legendary Purple Dragon, Spyro, and the once Terror of the Skies, Cynder, what was left over of the dark magic fused together to create a powerful 'humanoid' sorcerer known as Pravardrius. His body is scarred from the lacerations of the darkness and wholly hidden from view by the black cloak he wears. The only parts you can see of him are his arms, his legs, and his dark blue eyes".

Solister tried to imagine this scarred figure hidden under this cloak of darkness. She shivered at the thought. "Pravardrius was banished by the highest ranks of dragon kind to Fathom Cave, just along the coast. Through the year he has tried to create a plan to take revenge against our kind".

"But why? Why does he want revenge against us?" Solister asked. "Pravardrius is an unnatural being made up of pure evil. He is a fragment of Malefor's spirit created to finish off his last bidding; to destroy the world".

Solister felt dumbstruck at what she was hearing. She only heard of short snippets of the Dark Master's plan, but she wouldn't think it was possible. Anger and rage filled her mind at the thought of one of her kind destroying the very planet they lived on.

"But, without power, Pravardrius' plans were in vain. He needed to find a way to find power. Using whatever powers he had as a sorcerer, he conjured up a storm that would find a power, and coincidently, it happened to find… you, bearing the crystal that he needs". She looked down at her crystal, thinking about the 'power' inside it.

"It has also come to my attention that he has infiltrated the mind of your brother, Admeet in an attempt to lead you to him". "What!" she gasped in shock. "I know, Solister" the old dragon said, "but this is a difficult time. When you go back to the real world, I want you to mention nothing about what has infiltrated his mind, he knows already and the sorcerer has made a dark promise to Admeet that if he mentions anything about him to you, he will immediately take your life. However, you must tell Spyro immediately of the pressing matter and of Pravardrius. It's important that he knows and that Admeet doesn't know". She hesitated for a moment, pondering over the thoughts of whether tell or not to tell Admeet about this new presence. But then she reluctantly came up with her answer. "Fine, I will not tell Admeet, but he has to find out soon" She said, "I could not bear to think what pain my brother is going through. "Ok, Solister" the old dragon said thankful that Solister wasn't going to do the wrong decision. "And one other thing" he continued, "When you wake up, you will know how to fully control this new power you call "Shroud" you've acquired. It should help you complete your journey towards Fathom Cave". Solister then began to feel herself slipping back into reality. "Wait!" She shouted, "You still haven't told me who you are". "You shall remember me as Ignitus, the Chronicler" the dragon said, "and may the ancestors of our world look after you on the journey ahead". He finished of with a proud smile.

Solister jolted upright and gasped in shock as a slight hint of vertigo hit her. It was still very late afternoon, just coming into the evening. She sighed as the slight dizziness subsided and closed her eyes once more. "Come back soon, Admeet" she whispered.

Meanwhile, back at the storm, Spyro, Cynder, and Admeet were about to leave. "Well, we've found nothing else, evidence wise" Admeet said as he came towards the pair, "but the incident a while back proves that the storm still holds its place as a danger. This is why we must head to Fathom Cave now and end this". "I admire your courage at hand, but we still mustn't step into the situation to quickly" Cynder pointed out, "we still have to plan out how we are going to approach this". "But we don't want anything like this to happen again" Admeet replied more sternly this time, "that's why we must stop this now, to protect our kin". "The dragon city and indeed all the dragons are still safe" Spyro commented, "the storm hasn't even reached over the mountains yet". "But it is still a pressing matter" Admeet rebutted, "It still presents a danger to the city. Now if you two don't mind, I'd like to get out of here". And with that, he shot into the air and headed back for the city. Spyro and Cynder just stood there not know what to say. Spyro then spoke up. "I don't know what has gotten into Admeet, but it doesn't look good". "Yeah" Cynder replied, "but we may have to play along with this. If he is right about Fathom Cave, then we can stop this". "It doesn't pose as much of a threat right now, so long as everyone stays away from it" Spyro said looking back to the centre, "but I do agree with you and him, if we can stop it sooner, the less danger there is". "C'mon, let's go" Cynder said, "It's already turning into evening". Spyro nodded and kissed her on the head. She smiled affectionately and brushed her side against his. He smiled back and the two of them sprang into the air.

It only took around 10 minutes to make it back to Warfang. Admeet was the first to land back at Spyro and Cynder's house since he had a head start, but Spyro and Cynder followed closely. Admeet saw that Solister wasn't at the table like she was before. He then noticed her newest drawing and the other scroll next to it. He looked at her drawing carefully and realized it was a drawing of one of his story extracts. He picked up the scroll he wrote on and rolled it back into its original shape. He chuckled to himself quietly but praised her art skills. "She must be asleep" he then thought looking towards the spare room. He walked into the spare room and immediately found Solister curled up on the bed, sleeping soundly. He smiled to himself looking at the little dragoness. However, she wasn't fully asleep as she heard her brother step in. She cracked an eye open to see him standing in the doorway. "Hey, sis" he said warmly. She smiled and stretched her legs. "Hi" she said back sleepily. "Nice sleep" he asked. "Yeah" she said as she slid off the bed. "I'm gonna see if there's something to eat" Admeet said, "do you want anything to eat?" "No thanks" Solister replied, "I'm not that hungry". Admeet nodded and exited the room; Solister followed him out.

Spyro was busy looking at Solister's new drawings on the centre table. He looked to see Solister coming out of the spare room. "I must say, Solister that your art skills are excellent" Spyro praised her. "Uh… thanks" she replied a bit sheepishly. She quickly paused to think, this would be the perfect time to tell Spyro of the matter at hand. "Spyro" she asked, "do you mind if I could talk to you". Admeet looked at her in confusion, why would she want to speak to Spyro about something. She then added on "in private". This slightly hurt Admeet. "Sure" Spyro replied just as confused as Admeet. Solister then re-entered the spare room and Spyro followed. Admeet raised his brow as the door closed in front of him. He turned back and went to the counter. "What's going on" he thought.

Solister closed the door behind her and walked back towards Spyro. "Its about what's happening now" she said quietly. Spyro took the hint to be quiet. "While I was asleep, I had a dream where someone… communicated through to me about Admeet" she continued. Spyro then thought of a certain dragon that could do this. "Who was this person" Spyro asked. "I think he said his name was… Ignitus the Chronicler". Then it all came back to him. "What did he say?" he asked knowing that with the Chronicler speaking to someone, something big was happening. "He said something about the current situation that a sorcerer known as "Pravardrius" is behind all of this" Spyro slightly shuddered at the thought. "Worse still" Solister continued, "he says that this sorcerer has "infiltrated" Admeet's mind and hopes to use him to lead me to Fathom Cave". Hearing this entire slab of information made Spyro sigh; "Then it's worse than we feared. Why does this sorcerer want you?" "Apparently, he wants this crystal that I wear as it contains some sort of power that he craves" she replied lifting the light blue crystal with her paw, "He also said that we should make this journey to Fathom Cave now". "But why go to Fathom Cave now, It's exactly what this sorcerer wants" Spyro asked inquisitively. "I know it will lead me to him, but it could be a way of stopping this whole thing" Solister replied, "Oh and another thing. We can't mention any of this sorcerer stuff to Admeet. The sorcerer made a dark promise that if Admeet were to tell me, you or Cynder about this, then he would "take my life"". "What do you mean" Spyro asked. "I think he would… kill me" Solister replied shivering at the thought. Spyro cringed at the thought of losing someone he helped. "Then we shall make the journey to Fathom Cave tomorrow morning" he said boldly. Solister nodded and opened the door again. She exited the spare room and Spyro followed out. "Let's hope this works out" she thought.

Later in the evening, things started to settle down. Spyro told Cynder, in private, of Solister's meeting with the Chronicler, how Admeet was possessed by the sorcerer, Pravardrius, and how they were going to attempt the journey to Fathom Cave tomorrow morning. They had managed to keep Admeet wondering what was going on, so far. Spyro and Cynder spent most of the evening together on the balcony, looking at the setting sun over the coast, enjoying their love while they could. Admeet spent the time writing out ideas in his head about new stories. Solister spent a little bit of time drawing then relaxing by herself. Admeet stayed quiet for most of the evening, only small talking with Solister once in a while. It was a mostly peaceful time.

Meanwhile, in a medical clinic at the hospital, the injured electric dragon was being treated. Volteer stood outside of the room, concerned about the wellbeing of one of his team members. "How is he doing, my talkative friend" Cyril popped up from the foyer. Volteer sighed not at the health of his team member, but from Cyril's informal entrance. "He is doing fine, Cyril" Volteer commented with an irritable tone in his voice, "We electric dragons put up a good defence against electric based attacks, so his injuries will heal up just fine". "Good to hear" Cyril replied, "our presence is requested at the temple. If you don't mind, we need you to come immediately". Volteer paused to think. He needed to attend this meeting and his team member was in good hands with the mole interns. "Ok" he said plainly. Cyril nodded back and the two headed out of the hospital.

Inside the clinic, the mole interns kept a steady eye on the dragon's condition. His injuries had almost healed up, but the charge from the lightning had left a significant effect on the dragon's heart; it wasn't pumping at its usual rhythm. The chances of him returning into the action were slim; he could face an early retirement. One of the interns was using a small scanner to pick up signs of anymore wounds or cuts, but then he frowned when a small incursion popped up. The display on the scanner showed a black and purple blob spreading at a snail's pace - maybe even slower - through his body. "Sir" the intern piped up to the chief medic. The chief medic noticed the call for help and came over quickly. "What is it" he asked. "I've found something deep within the dragon's body" the intern ushered the chief medic towards the display of the scanner showing the black and purple blob. "'Never seen anything like this" the medic commented, "have Volteer and the other guardians know of this. They'll figure what this is". "Yes sir" the intern saluted and quickly rushed out of the clinic.

It was now late evening, just going into the twilight. Spyro and Cynder had now gone into a deep sleep on their bed. Admeet was just about to fall to sleep. But Solister couldn't even go into a light doze. She kept on eyeing her sleeping brother. She didn't want to keep the truth from him but she had to if she was going to stop this whole thing tomorrow. After a while, she gave up trying to get some sleep and quietly jumped off the bed, being careful to not wake Admeet up.

She closed the spare room door behind her and walked over onto the balcony.

 _"Warfang was very quiet during the early hours of the morning. The only sounds that could be heard were the moles hired as guards patrolling the outer walls, at least a few dragons wondering about the grounds, and the rest of the wildlife outside the city boundaries."_

She watched the now eerie city with the darkness looming over it. She had never seen the city in the night before, but thinking about it, she felt peaceful. Even if she was going to make a seemingly perilous journey to Fathom Cave, she felt cool headed and confident about it.

Tonight was slightly cool and windy. She felt the breeze brush against her scales; it felt refreshing. However, she knew that she would have to get some sleep for she needed all the energy she would need to make the journey to Fathom Cave. She thought for a moment of how she would get at least a wink of sleep. But then she had an idea. She closed her eyes and began to delve into the "Shroud".

The wads of purple electricity danced on the surface of the white sphere of energy like the energy in a plasma ball. The sphere looked like it was emitting more power than it was when she last looked. Just looking at the electrical brilliance made her feel a little drowsy. But then, a quick flash of pain hit her as the purple in the shroud turned into a jet black for a split second. Her skin colour turned from a grey into a black as well and her eyes turned into a blinding white. But then, the colours returned to normal. She frowned in confusion and looked at herself; she didn't feel odd in any way. "What the…" she whispered to herself. But thankfully, she felt too sleepy to enquire this. She lied down on her belly and closed her eyes. It wasn't long before she started to go into a deep sleep. "Good luck everyone" she finally thought to everyone for tomorrow would be a tough time.

The morning sun rose over the horizon and the dragon city, illuminating its stunning architecture. The dragon population was now beginning to stir as they were now attending their daily duties. The sentries, both dragon and mole, along the city walls were now thinning out from a night time 100 to a day time 50. The guardians had tried to keep the storm issue as a secret from the rest of the population to not any disturbance or panic, but some dragons were starting to worry about this stationary tempest.

Solister opened her eyes to find herself lying on the cold stone floor of the balcony. It took a while for her to remember what she was doing out here instead of in the spare room. But she couldn't think straight because of how cold she was. She had been shivering all night, the results of not finding a blanket before going to sleep. However, she did get a good night sleep since she could withstand the icy nature due to her primary element.

She yawned in the hopes of waking herself up. She stood up and crept towards the nearby fire place, however it was not lit. Since she couldn't master the element of fire, she had no way of lighting the fire. She sighed to herself and curled up in a tight ball to try and conserve whatever heat she had.

Then she heard foot steps coming towards her. She looked up to see Spyro placing a blanket over her in a gentle fashion. "You look cold" he said very quietly. Solister smiled back as Spyro sat down next to her. He quietly shot a small fireball in to the fire place. A few small flames appeared from the tinder wood. "Why are you awake at this early hour" Spyro asked. "Just woke up at this hour" Solister replied, "and you?" "Same as you" Spyro replied, "But why were you out here?" "Couldn't get to sleep in the spare room" replied Solister, "I'm just too worried about Admeet". "I admire that you put others in need in front of yourself" said Spyro, "but have faith in your brother. We will make it through this". Solister's courage lifted at the statement.

There was a brief silence before Solister spoke up. "I also experienced something… unusual when I came out here. I decided to put myself to sleep by looking into what I call, the "Shroud". But then a cringe of pain hit me and a sudden… 'darkness' overwhelmed me". Spyro eyed her in confusion but he then had an idea. "Come with me, quietly" Spyro asked, "I have something to show you". He led the little dragoness outside and took off. He paused and turned around. "Come on" he coaxed her. Solister took off and caught up with him in flight.

About a minute later, the two arrived at the base of the temple. "What are we doing here" Solister asked a little puffed out from a short early morning flight. "You'll see" Spyro replied opening the main doors. The stairway up the temple was dimly lit. The two crept up the stone staircase. Spyro stopped abruptly at a door, causing Solister to accidently bump into him. "We're here" Spyro said. He opened the wooden door, trying to keep every noise from it as quiet as possible. Solister peered in to see a small pool in the centre of the circular room. Spyro stepped in and sat down next to the pool. Solister edged in, anxious of what was going on. "Now I want you to look into this "Shroud" and tell me what you see" Spyro instructed her. Solister sat down and did what she was told. She delved into the Shroud. "Um… I see the white sphere with purple lightning bouncing off its surface. A blue haze surrounds the sphere" Solister described. "I will try and look into your visions using the Pool of Visions here" Spyro said. Solister only nodded as Spyro's words in her mind just sounded like an echo. But then, the stab of pain hit her again, but this time it was more powerful. Her skin colour turned to a jet black again and her eye's went to a blinding white - but this time, it wasn't holding back. Spyro slightly panicked as this was the first steps of turning into darkness. "Fight it" Spyro exclaimed. Solister cringed in pain even more as it tried to take light control over her. She struggled under the power of the darkness restraining her and started to tire. Then in a last ditch attempt, Spyro tackled Solister to the ground. She came back to reality and gasped in shock. She looked at the purple dragon in the eyes in fear. "Wha… what happened" she whispered in exhaustion. Spyro lifted himself up, relieved from saving her. "This is bad" Spyro thought. "What happened?" Solister then shouted in sudden anger. "Calm down, Solister" Spyro said gently. She tried to control herself. "You are experiencing the first signs of turning to the… evil" Spyro said unsure of how the young dragoness was going to take this. Solister quickly paused for thought. She heard Admeet mention about the darkness and that she could be tempted by it. She sighed as she didn't want to hear anymore. "Let's just go" she said, "Let's just get this over with". And with that, she exited the room which left Spyro to worry about her. He sighed to himself; "She just doesn't know" he whispered at the back of his mind.

Meanwhile, Admeet was just about to wake up. He opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times to get rid of the sleepiness. But then he noticed that Solister wasn't by his side; he frowned in confusion. "Must be up early" he thought. He slid off the bed and onto his feet. He stretched his body, hearing his joints pop. He exited the spare room and saw Cynder already preparing a bit of breakfast; she noticed him. "Morning" Cynder said. "Morning" Admeet replied, "Have you seen Solister?" "Well I was about to ask you the same question, but about Spyro" Cynder replied unsure of where the two were. But then, if almost instantly, Spyro and Solister appeared by the balcony. "Did someone call us" Solister asked almost jokingly. Admeet looked at them in confusion, and then back at Cynder; she did the same. "Where were you?" Admeet asked Solister slightly worried. "Me and Spyro couldn't sleep, so we just went for a quick flight around the city" Solister replied, Spyro nodded approvingly. "You went out" Admeet said shocked by their actions, "when we are supposed to prepare for today". "Hey, now there is no need to get annoyed at your sister" Spyro retorted defensively, "we all need a cool head if we're gonna tackle this ordeal". Admeet sighed in frustration; this was a tense time. "and we also need to speak with the Guardians so they know of what's going on" Spyro continued. "Alright, fine" Admeet agreed reluctantly, "but after that, we set off immediately". And with that he walked over to his side bag, checking for any changes. Solister sighed in worry and helped herself to a bit of breakfast.

Afterwards, the four prepared to take off towards the temple. Admeet had emptied his bag of all the scrolls he carried and filled it with the supplies needed for the trip. Spyro took off first, followed by Cynder, then Admeet, and finally, Solister.

A couple of minutes later, the group landed at the entrance to the temple. Spyro opened the wooden doors and the four climbed the flight of stairs to the top. Terrador, Cyril, and Volteer were already at the top, discussing about the events that unfolded last night – one of the mole interns from the hospital was there. "This is grave news" Cyril exclaimed. "Indeed" Volteer replied his voice sounding duller than usual. "What's grave news?" Spyro asked inquisitively as he appeared from the top of the stairs, followed by Cynder, Admeet, and Solister. The three Guardians looked to see the group. "We have discovered something that worries us" Cyril continued. The 3 teenage and 1 young dragons sat down to hear the full story. "As you already know, one of Volteer's research members was unfortunately struck by lightning. We've managed to heal his minor wounds but something worse has propped up. Our intern here picked up a strange occurrence within the dragons body. We believe that a form a darkness that acts like an infectious bacterium is spreading throughout the dragon's body, slowly but surely corrupting him. We believe that this spreading darkness was transferred from the lightning strike into his body". Solister thought for a moment while Cyril continued to explain. "If the dragon was infected with this darkness by the lightning strike, then…" a very bad thought entered her mind, "there would be a darkness in me!" She shuddered at the thought, "but what will this darkness do to me?" "Thus we can counteract the evil spreading through the dragon" Cyril spoke. Solister was too stuck in her thoughts to notice Cyril was still talking. Spyro then began to think as well. "If the dragon was infected with the darkness by the lightning strike, then Solister would have also been infected with it too!" He peered towards the young dragoness, looking oblivious of the effects she would suffer in the future. "Now, young dragons" Terrador said in a militarising voice; Cyril had finished speaking, "what brings you to the temple?"

Spyro went on to explain that they were now thinking of making the journey to Fathom Cave and see if they could destroy the storm, however, he never mentioned anything about Pravardrius. "Very well, young dragons" Terrador answered, "If it means stopping this whole problem, then we will allow you to make the journey". "If you are to stay safe, we recommend you to travel towards the two other locations within the vicinity of the cave, Sunset Pendulum and the Clearing of Remembrance". Cyril commented. "Ok. We will take enough supplies and set off immediately". Spyro replied. "Good" Terrador said, "and may the ancestors be with you all the way; Dismissed". The four started to make their way down to the bottom of the temple.

The next 10 minutes was spent gathering supplies for the trip. They had been given a map of the west coast, including major locations, such as Warfang, Sunset Pendulum, the Clearing of Remembrance, Gulley Rock, and Fathom Cave. Once they were ready, they regrouped by the west city wall. "Ok, looks like we've got everything we need" Spyro said, "food, and healing gems. This should last us through the journey". "Ok, so we are set to go?" Solister asked, "Yes" Spyro replied; he spread the map across the stone floor, "We'll head towards the Clearing of Remembrance first since it's the nearest landmark to Warfang, there we can take a small break before we head towards Sunset Pendulum where we can make camp for the night. From there it should be plain sailing towards Fathom Cave through the gulley. We'll take turns in carrying the supplies". "Alright then, let's go" Admeet said. Spyro, Cynder and Solister all nodded in unison, but with nervousness hitting them. This was going to be a tough journey, and it was going to be even tougher once they reached Fathom Cave. Spyro folded the map and placed it into Admeet's side bag, now full of supplies. Admeet opted for the first stint to the Clearing. The four flapped their wings and took off towards the Clearing. The journey had now begun.

As the group neared Green Wood Forest, Warfang was becoming a spec on the horizon. With her determination, Solister wasn't easily going to tire. Admeet was more nervous than the others since he thought he was leading them into danger. Both Spyro and Cynder were more confident than Admeet, as they had previously dealt with an enemy far more powerful than the one they were about to fight. They kept their thoughts to themselves and continued to fly effortlessly over plains.

Solister, however, was in her own thoughts. She didn't entirely know what the full effects this darkness would cast upon her. She had already experienced the first effects of it "Maybe Spyro will tell me about it" she thought, "there has to be a way to get rid of it".

Spyro, on the other hand was more worried for the little dragoness. Since he had been affected by the darkness in previous times, he knew what it was like – but Solister didn't know fully. "Let's hope things turn out for the best" Spyro muttered under his breath. Solister heard the faint whisper but decided to ignore it.

"We should try and avoid the forest floor" Spyro pointed out snapping out from his thoughts, "There are many dangers down there and we do not want to lose progress". The group nodded and kept at a steady pace.

Now Warfang had completely vanished from the horizon. Forest covered the area as far as the eye could see. It had been now an hour into the first part of the journey. "Strange" Admeet started to point out, "there hasn't been anything remotely threatening that has tried to hinder our progress yet". "Just be on the look out" Spyro replied, "Its never this easy". However, Admeet's words were about to be deemed to late.

From out of the woods shot a fiery streak of red and orange. The group didn't have time to react as the streak suddenly shot into Solister. The blow paralysed her and she started to tumble from the sky. "What the…" Admeet shouted as the streak straightened itself out to reveal a eagle-like bird boasting sharp talons and wing claws. "Fire Blades" Spyro shouted, "There must be a pack of them". He was right, a large pack of Fire Blades suddenly emerged from the forest canopy. What they lacked in strength made up for numbers, agility and intelligence. "We'll have to fight them" Cynder shouted taking up a fighting stance in the air. The other two responded with short nods and both took up their mid-air fighting stance. However, they were now to preoccupied to realise that Solister wasn't with them.

Deep within the forest laid the crumpled body of the little dragoness. Loud screeches could be heard across the expanse; the Fire Blades had signalled their attack. She moaned in pain as her body ached all over. The fall from the sky down through the forest had taken a heavy toll. She had cuts and bruises all over as she had hit several sticks and branches. But the worst pain of all came from her wings which were heavily damaged from the impact on the ground. She had landed back-first. She breathed heavily as the pain shot through her almost instantly when she regained whatever conscience she had; her senses were all hyped up. She cracked an eye slowly to find herself in the dark, gloomy forest floor. She tried to stand up, but instantly fell to the ground again; her legs had taken a beating. She felt weak and helpless.

Then suddenly, she found a new energy within her. She closed her eyes and entered the Shroud. The white energy sphere seemed to pulse with a white light. Slowly but surely, the cuts and bruises were being healed. The pain in her wings started to ease and her senses started to settle down.

A moment later, she was completely healed, but at a price. Her healing energy was fully depleted and would need time to recharge. She opened her eyes once more and stood up. She shook off what was left on her skin, bits of moss and small sticks. She looked around to see nothing but a gloomy atmosphere and a few trees. All was quiet except for the sounds of a battle in the skies. But she was not alone.

All around her, creatures with eight red eyes crept silently around her, eyeing the little dragoness with great curiosity. One of the creatures stepped forward a tiny bit, making cracking noises with its mouth. Its eight legs crept silently on the undergrowth. Solister was beginning to feel aware of these noises and looked around for any sign, but found none; she was beginning to feel nervous. Then a twig snapped behind her and she jolted her head towards the direction, seeing nothing but a grey, depressing mist. She looked at her hand and observed a few strikes of electricity bounce of the palm. But instead of entering the Shroud, she instead felt power flow to her hand and the electric current greatly increased. "I can control it freely" she whispered in her mind. The current formed into a light blue, solid ball of pure electricity in the palm of her hand, lighting up a small area around her. The light revealed the creatures to be blue spiders, covered in natural foliage. They screeched in shock as their light blue markings lit up in a vivid display. The large plant on their abdomens lit up also to show a stunning red flower. They eyed the now powerful dragoness with killing intent, saliva dripping from their mouths. She gritted her teeth in determination and readied her hand carrying the ball of electrical matter. "Bring it" she whispered.

High above, the Fire Blades commenced their full attack on the three dragons. The group split up with a small group each aiming for a single dragon. Splitting the dragons up and making them vulnerable was their plan.

Spyro tried to counter-attack with his fire breath but the Fire Blades proved to be resistant to fire, and quick. He rose upwards the let the birds fly after him. After a short while, he quickly turned in mid-air to face the birds and let out a quick blast of his ice breath. The birds at the front of the pack took the full effect of the freezing temperatures. Their wings froze and they started to tumble from the sky. Spyro immediately went on the full attack now that they were slightly distracted. He swung his tail blade and struck a single bird from the sky. The hard blow paralysed the bird. He let out another blast of ice and froze more birds, which in term fell into the forest. A streak of a bird flying at high speed flew straight past the rest of the birds, heading straight for Spyro's left wing. The bird darted into the wing bone and scathed the surface, leaving a minor scratch. Spyro tried to block the pain coursing through his wing. He swatted the attacking bird with his paw with a hard swipe. The bird was killed instantly and the limp body fell towards the green expanse.

Cynder was having more luck, as her light build meant that she had agility on her side. Nearly every bird missed their intended target but they just kept on attacking. Cynder released a large gust of her wind element from her mouth, sending some of the birds into an uncontrolled spin through the air. Her large and sharp steel tail blade made short work of some of the birds, literally slicing them in half. She then decided to dive down into the forest canopy. She didn't stop until she was about to reach the floor. She activated her Shadow power and she instantly disappeared into the ground. The birds following her, confused at what just happened, scanned the area for any signs of the black dragon. However, deep beneath the ground, the now shadow enveloped Cynder eyed the birds above her, right were she wanted them to be. With a quick flash, she flew through the top of the ground and caught the birds entirely by surprise. The birds were vaporised by the shadow's dark energy and Cynder flew back up to the canopy level, ready to finish off any other birds.

Admeet, even though he wasn't an experienced fighter, was still holding out well enough - Though some of the birds were able to score direct hits on their opponent. Only scratches were to be found on his body. His ice element was the key to rivalling the enemy. Like Spyro, he froze them in mid-air and the static bodies were left to fall. Occasionally he would use a melee attack against a single bird. He swung with his dagger-like tail blade at a single bird, narrowly missing his target. He somersaulted through the air, his tail blade moving at a whip's speed. This time however, he struck lucky as the blade struck a single bird and sent it shooting into the forest below. His side bag proved to be a handicap, as his swings increased the momentum in the bag, therefore not allowing him to stop immediately after each swing. The latch holding the flap held together nicely and the supplies stayed still. "This is getting exhausting" Admeet thought as the bag swung around with the neck strap rubbing against his skin. But then he suddenly realised something. "Where's Solister!"

Down below, the first Spider lunged at Solister. She immediately shot her hand forward and released a strike of lightning. The bolt struck the spider with pin-point accuracy; the spider was burnt to a crisp. Several more spiders leapt at Solister with fangs bared. Solister started to emanate an energy barrier around herself and all of the spiders were repelled violently back. Then the barrier vanished to unleash a flurry of bolts, electrifying the knocked down spiders. Almost immediately, a new wave of spiders jumped out of the undergrowth, creating a bright display of blue and red form their markings. Solister kept on releasing bolts of lightning from her hands left and right, all striking true. Every second, dead spiders would litter the ground. "This is too easy" Solister muttered now getting cocky.

She then closed her eyes and let more spiders surround her. She started to lift in the air, leaving her legs and tail dangling. A blue and white energy orb started to form, surrounding her body - similar to a plasma ball, with her being the centre of it. Brewing lightning started to appear on the surface of the orb. She smiled evilly to herself, power consuming her body. She then opened her eyes and released her fury. The brewing lightning shot from the orb as several bolts, and each bolt hit a spider within its vicinity. The lighting continued to erupt from the orb for at least 10 seconds, striking any spider unlucky enough to wonder into the vicinity. Lastly, the lighting ceased and the orb expanded outwards to engulf the last of the spiders. The orb penetrated the canopy of the forest and could be seen for miles. The little dragoness floated downwards back to the ground and landed clumsily on the scorched undergrowth. Using so much power caused her to slightly wobble. Her breathing was loud but steady. After regaining her composure, she looked around to see the spiders had vanished, burnt into the ground. She smiled evilly again to herself, knowing how powerful she was becoming.

In the skies, the fight against the Fire Blades continued. All three of the dragons were not completely exhausted. But Admeet was the one suffering the most. The thought of losing Solister in the sudden ambush suddenly demoralised him. He was starting to let go and take more hits from the birds, when suddenly, he heard a loud explosion come from the forest. He looked to see lightning emitting from one single spot. After a while, the lightning disappeared and a large, blue and white sphere rose from the canopy. "What the..." he muttered. But as soon as he spoke, a bird clipped his back and he cringed from the stinging that soon hit him. He lunged at more birds, hoping to strike true. However, the fight was now ending, now that the Fire Blade's numbers were falling. Spyro and Cynder finished off the last few birds that were aiming for them and quickly helped Admeet get rid of his last targets. Once the birds were gone, they quickly regrouped. "Did you see that orb of energy?" asked Admeet as he started recovering from his minor injuries. "Yeah, I've never seen any Fury like that" Cynder pointed out. "I reckon that's Solister down there" Spyro said, "Let's get down to the forest floor". And with that, the three flew down through the canopy to find Solister.

When they found her, she was standing on a bare patch of grass by a now arid forest floor. "Solister..." Admeet stood dumbstruck at what he saw. The three walked over to the little dragoness and inspected her. "Not a scratch" Spyro muttered out. Then they noticed the crisp legs sticking out of the ground, they immediately knew they belonged to spiders. "You've definitely mastered this new power of yours" Admeet commented. Solister just nodded in response. "I think we'd better get a move on now, before more creatures attempt to hinder our progress" Cynder said. "You're right" Spyro replied, "Let's get moving". And with that, the group all took to the air and rose above the canopy, resuming their selected route. This was only the first of many challenges they were about to face on this perilous journey.

The group flew fast to avoid any more Fire Blades calling for help. However, this gave time for Admeet to pause for thought. Since the voice of Pravardrius had made its dark promise to kill Solister if Admeet dare mentioned anything about it, it had put him under massive amounts of pressure. He would have to tell them soon, but he couldn't bear to think what would happen to Solister. He looked over to her. She flew side by side with Admeet most of the time, but Admeet couldn't help but notice something. Solister had a small evil grin planted on her face. Her new-found power was recharging and she could feel the power course through her body; it felt good. This didn't settle well for Admeet, but he kept his thoughts to himself. They were about half an hour to the Clearing of Remembrance and making good progress despite the small setback.

" _The Clearing of Remembrance was a monument dedicated to those who were laid to rest during the Great War. All of the dead who were found were buried in this clearing as a respect of their bravery in fighting against the enemy. Every so often, dragons of Warfang would pay their respects to their fallen comrades and to those who had lost their family in the war"._

"I can see the Clearing from here" Spyro pointed out at a small patch in the forest which was just appearing on the horizon. Since dragons could fly, the group could take a straight route from Warfang to the Clearing.

It wasn't long before they arrived at the Clearing. The group landed on the soft grass and took in their surroundings. The clearing was completely surrounded by trees and in the middle of the clearing stood a stone monument depicting a dragon clashing with an ape. A small description was engraved on the monument, which read...

" _Here lies the casualties brought upon us during the Great War, 2460 – 2560. May their souls rest in peace and be in a better place"._

Admeet wondered over to the monument to inspect it. He read the description and sighed in sadness for all of the dragons who took their lives during the Great War. But he also thought of two very special dragons that protected him when he was young. "May you rest in peace Mom and Dad" he said resting his paw against the cold stone, paying deep respect to them. A single tear rolled down his cheek and dropped off into the lush grass. Solister wandered over to him and sat down beside him. "They're in a better place now" Solister said instantly reading Admeet's thoughts, "They would be proud of us". Admeet looked down to her and smiled with a sad smile. He had never heard her say that array of words before. She leaned herself against his body and Admeet lightly wrapped his arm around her back.

Meanwhile, Spyro and Cynder watched the scene from a distance. They both smiled to themselves. "They really do care about each other" Cynder said quietly not to disturb the two, "It must be on a very special level". Spyro just nodded once, happy to see some peace with the entire group.

A while later and the group were ready to make the stint to Sunset Pendulum. It would take at least another 4 hours to cross the forest to the landmark. Spyro opted to carry the side-bag for this stint. The group flapped their wings and took off.

Meanwhile back at Warfang, the electric dragon hit by the storm's lightning was still recovering in the hospital. His injuries were healing up nicely, but it was the spreading darkness inside him that was causing more of a problem. If the infection was not subdued, it would slowly spread and take over his mind. The interns had to keep a close eye on the limp dragon for any unexpected changes. Only a couple of interns were on the job monitoring the dragon's status since it wasn't an overly large job. All seemed pretty quiet in the operation room.

Suddenly however, an oddity was noticed. There was a small but sudden increase in heart rate and the dragon's breathing was becoming slightly more forced. An intern noticed this and immediately went to the side of the dragon. He took note of the sudden changes. But then the wounded dragon's heart rate kept on increasing. Now slight moans could be heard from dragon's voice, a sign of danger perhaps. The intern started to worry. "You'd better come and look at this" he said ushering the other intern over. The two inspected the changes with interest. "We'd better tell the Guardians about this" the second intern said. But as soon as he said that, the dragon's skin suddenly and violently changed colour from a golden yellow to a void black. Cries of pain erupted from the dragon as he felt like his body was being torn apart. "Rise, my fallen shadow…" a ghostly voice called out in his mind. Aggression started to take over his mind. "Kill them all…" the voice called out again. The dragon's eyes shot open to reveal a pure white evil lurking inside them. The interns stood in silent fear at the horrific sight. In a flash, he launched himself off the hospital bed, straight for the fear stricken moles. Cries of terror and pain were the last voices to be heard as darkness with a killer instinct sealed their doom.

Unaware of the events unfolding, Volteer was at the temple, staring into the pool of visions. He had been in the temple nearly all day trying to figure out some sort of lead on who was behind all of this. Several times, the other Guardians came to briefly visit him to either help him or to check up on him - but for most of the time, he just wanted to be left alone. The past few events had really taken a toll on the old dragon. He sighed in frustration, not being able to piece together the jigsaw to discover the true being behind all of this. "Oh, Ancestors" he asked to no real being in particular. His high spirited personality had all but almost vanished, "What should I do? What should I see? What can I even fathom out of this?". "You can fathom out many things, my good friend" said a voice echoing in the old electric dragon's mind. Volteer hastily looked around the large, cylindrical room for any sign of the voice; it also sounded familiar. "Ignitus?" he said slightly stupefied. He had heard of Ignitus becoming the Chronicler due to Spyro once visiting the keeper of time. "Yes, it is I" the Chronicler spoke out, "but we must talk quickly. Right now there is an emergency involving one of your kin. See to it right away…" Volteer paused for thought but immediately knew what he meant; something was wrong down in the hospital. Volteer had no time for pleasantries and quickly left for the hospital. Ignitus clearly understood this as this was a very grave situation.

37


End file.
